This is How Dreamers Die
by killslay
Summary: What drives a dreamer from his or her goal? What destroys trust and faith in the world? What turns a dreamer into a monster?


I do not own One Piece, the world of One Piece, or any characters found therein. Eiichiro Oda, the mad genius of Shounen, is the creator and I therefore cede all rights to him. Oh yeah, and Shounen Jump, Viz Media, Toei Animation, and FUNimation actually make money in this too, and would therefore be interested in suing my pants off.

Yeah, this is actually a revamped version of an older story. Same premise, a slightly different approach. I apologize if anyone's brain breaks after reading this!

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This is How Dreamers Die

_Hold fast to dreams_

_For if dreams die_

_Life is a broken bird that cannot fly_

_Hold fast to dreams_

_For if dreams go_

_Life is a barren field_

_Frozen with snow_

_~Langston Hughes_

She'd once dreamed of freedom, out on the open seas. She'd once followed her compass and drank and laughed with her nakama. They loved her and she them and it was always summer on the Grand Line. They braved the storms and the monsters and the cruel men that barred their way. A ship and a star to guide her, that was all she needed.

They'd passed by Kamabakka Island and she'd cheerfully greeted its strange colorful inhabitants. The Queen, so large and gay, was impressed by her nonchalance of his/her people's lifestyle and invited the young pirate crew to stay. Rum was passed around and days of strange and weird sights and her crew gradually began to lose their aversion to the people of Kamabakka. In return, they were treated as guests and allowed to pass unmolested.

_Live your life vell, child of the seas._ The large gaudy ruler smiled with a touch of sadness. _ But do not think that good fortune vill always lie ahead._

She'd laughed off his/her concerns and went on her way. Dreamers never die so long as the dream remained alive. Her crew was strong and she was stronger and they would always have the sea.

The attack was swift and brutal. They had been followed (for how long?) and though they fought with everything they had, and she stayed on the frontlines of battle, shouting orders as the wind whipped her dark hair. All for nothing. They chained her with seastone and forced her to watch as they slaughtered her crew before her eyes. One by one, her precious companions who she would have gladly died for, were put to death as she screamed and begged and debased everything she'd fought for all this time.

_Please! Please, do what you want with me! I'll give you my treasure, my body, my soul, my dreams! Just please don't take them from me! I'll stop being a pirate, I'll stop searching for One Piece! Just let them live!_

The Marines, the one that held her, just laughed and spat on her. Pirate scum didn't deserve anything less. Pirate whores like her…

Her first mate, her precious partner who'd followed her every command without question or complaint, was the last to go. He stared at her stoically, his aged and scarred and bloody face the oldest memory she carried. Her protector, her friend, her endless supporter. And he smiled as the gun was placed against his temple and…

She screamed herself hoarse and smashed a hand against the mast again and again and again until it was a mangled stump of bloody flesh and shattered bones. They didn't stop her. Her desperation only amused them and they waited until she could only sink down and sob, broken at last.

She knew what would follow and just lay there as they took everything she had left. Dignity, strength, and will. What use were they now? She refused to cry and any grief or horror that she might have felt seemed to dry up within her. They tossed her broken body overboard and she surrendered herself to the sea.

But like some cosmic joke, she didn't die. He saved her and she hated him more than anything. More than the people that took everything she once had. More than her crew who'd been too weak to survive. More than herself who was too weak to save them.

He endured her fury, her scathing insults, and her long sullen silence. His face was impassive under that strange tattoo, but his hands were gentle as they fed her, bandaged her, cleaned her. To her annoyance, she slowly began to recover. Her left hand had to be amputated and she just let them cut it off, not even flinching as the saw tore through flesh and bone. Why not take one more thing of hers? She'd lost everything else.

**Are you such a coward?** He finally asked. **Can you really let them take your life like this, without even fighting?**

His words broke through her numbed shell and she raged at him. She'd fought! She'd have killed every last one of them if she could…!

**Then what's stopping you?**

She stopped. She looked at her bandaged stump as if seeing it for the first time.

**As long as you have life, you have hope. You can become stronger, even after this. Live and take your revenge.**

_Against who?_

**Against the World.**

_The World…?_

**You think you're the first person who's had everything taken from them just for being who you were? Thousands are suffering under their rule, thousands more will follow unless we do something. And nothing will change unless we act. Will you join me?**

She looked down at the white, light sheets and something dark coiled against her heart as she looked up and hissed,

_Yes._

Dragon proved to be a valuable resource, though she never learned much about him besides his name. He had plans, big plans for the world. Those arrogant fools at Mariejois would tremble under the wrath of the people. The nations that made up the World Government were scattered and the people could be made to see… Those petty monarchs that depended upon the might of the World Government could easily be toppled once the people were united against them! And then, when all the nations fell…

_But the World Government is too strong. Even without the nations united behind them, they have the Marines and the Shichibukai besides…_ He brushed down her thighs and gently opened her legs.

**Of course it will be slow. One nation after another. Blood will be shed, there is no avoiding it, but at a reasonable pace.** She lay back and let him mount her.

_That will take too long._ She hissed as he entered her and slowly began thrusting into her. The familiar sweet pain of their lovemaking.

**It must be slow.** He reasoned, gently kneading her breasts in time with his thrusts. ** Too many lives will be lost and it will all be for nothing if it fails.**

_All the better…_ She gasped as he began to move quicker, the rhythm sending pleasure racing through her. _…that we do it quickly. Before they have a chance to tighten their grip._

**And how do you propose we do that? They outnumber and outgun us, and-** He broke off as he reached his peak and spilled his seed into her.

_And what makes you think that going slowly will make a difference?_ She rolled over and reversed their position so that she sat on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. _More lives will be lost in the long run. We need a weapon! Something that will give us an advantage over those arrogant fools._

He just wrapped his arms around her and held her gently.

**Nothing will be won by strength.** He whispered softly into her ear. ** It's the will of the people that we depend upon. Even if we win, without allowing the people to fight their own battles…we will be no better than the current rulers.**

So he said. She saw how their handful of followers looked at him. He was their leader, their guiding spirit. They would follow him to hell and beyond. Just like her nakama once had…

As they lay quietly, sticky and hot, she privately dreamed of the world they could create together. They would remake the world as they saw fit. They would be benevolent, of course, but they would swiftly punish those that would oppress others. And the world would become a new Paradise…for their child.

She tenderly felt the soft bump of their growing child. She'd almost gotten rid of it when she found out. A child of two rebels would know no peace in this harsh world. But something stopped her. It was ridiculous: she could easily slay a dozen living breathing humans, but was unable to get rid of a clump of cells?

But as long as it was alive, she could still believe in hope. She could still fight for the future that she and her partner would create.

She hid all signs of the pregnancy from their nakama. The fewer people that knew, the better. She and Dragon played the dispassionate comrades before them, hoping that no one would suspect.

Despite this, he was there when she went into labor and she bit into a thick cloth with every contraction. He wiped the sticky sweat from her brow and whispered soft encouragements as she panted and endured the agonizing labor. And she, who had braved battles and dangers of the Grand Line without fail, fainted in the end from pain and exhaustion. But when she woke, the child was nowhere to be found.

**I'm sorry.** He stared into her disbelieving eyes stoically. **It's better this way.**

She became wild with rage and rushed at him in a storm of sand. He met her with a gale of wind and they fought savagely until they sank down exhausted in a cold draw. She gasping harshly with grief and betrayal and he panting coolly for breath as he waited for her to calm down. A fight between two Logias such as them rarely had a conclusive end.

**You know that the fewer people know of his location, the better. We talked of giving him up to a friend. **

Him! A son…a baby boy.

_Not like this! I didn't even get a chance to hold him. You never even let me see him!_

**Please, trust me on this. I wanted to spare you from further grief.**

_Spare me? I lost everything to them once! Why did you have to take the one thing I might've done right?_

**You still have…**

_No I don't. This stupid revolution is worthless. One nation after another coming to see your way? Don't make me laugh. You may win the world over to your side, but it'll all be for nothing when they blast you to hell! Go fight your brave stupid revolution, Dragon. I'm done._

She once thought she could trust him, but now she saw that those words were meaningless. Trust, dreams, faith? What a crock! This would be the last betrayal that she would ever suffer.

She found her old friend, still gaudy and radical as ever. It hadn't taken much to convince the eccentric okama to join the revolution. After all, the World Government made little effort to hide their contempt of the chaotic and unconventional Kamabakka Island and its equally chaotic and unconventional inhabitants.

He/she listened to her plea and agreed, out of old times' sake. Her body grew thick and strong and he was unrecognizable as he set sail under a new name. To hell with his former nakama, to hell with his dream!

He learned well from the harsh lesson that had been taught to her. Nakama and dreams were worthless in the face of reality. Very well then, he'd just have to make do with power and strength.

He'd take down the World Government his way and crush anyone that got in his way! After all, what was life without its amusements? The world was now his playfield and he'd run those bastards to the ground. Power awaited those who were strong, and he was more than ready to claim it.


End file.
